Apparently there are no real rules and some banks will not write down bad assets as there is discrepancy in how to calculate value.
Comments »China’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Considering “Indirect” Support to Europe Via Investment
China does not want to be the lead. Europe has been begging for help as they hold $3.2 trillion in sovereign wealth.
Comments »Italian, Spanish, and Belgium Yields Hit Nose Bleed Territory Again; Core Yields Like France and Germany Relax
Sarkozy and Merkel AKA S&M Want to Change the EU Treaties
Merekl and Sarkozy have recently announced that they agree to disagree in private. They stated they will not talk in public about their disagreements, but want to change the EU treaties in order to instill confidence.
“We need to correct the fundamental floors in the construction of the eurozone. The situation is not easy — trust has been lost. And that is the reason why we, Germany and France, want to work on treaty change for the eurozone.”
Comments »Merkel and Sarkozy Make Nice
“We all stated our confidence in the ECB and its leaders and stated that in respect of the independence of this essential institution we must refrain from making positive or negative demands of it,” Sarkozy told a joint news conference in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.
Comments »{SHOCK VIDEO} COLD FINGER WAR: Russian Anchorman Gives Obama the Middle Finger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E7jKKZTpzh4
Online footage of the incident, which occurred earlier this month during an afternoon news bulletin on the privately held REN TV channel, is being avidly viewed in both Russia and the United States.
In the footage, Tatyana Limanova, an award-winning senior newsreader at the channel, can be seen briskly reading out an item about how Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has just assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Asia Pacific Cooperation organisation.
She is then heard to say that the post “has (previously) been held by Barack Obama” before mechanically and unambiguously raising her left arm and showing the camera her raised middle finger in an offensive gesture that is sometimes known as “flipping the bird.”
The channel, which goes out to 120 million people across Russia, has declined to comment. But sources close to it have tried to defuse the row by claiming that the newsreader had believed she was off camera at the time and merely providing a voice-over for a report. According to the same storyline, the rude gesture was intended for studio technicians who had been trying to put her off her stride.
REN TV has traditionally been perceived as a more liberal channel in a country where TV content is tightly controlled by the state. But it is now controlled by structures owned by a close ally of Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, and has been criticised for allegedly becoming more slavish to the Kremlin.
The scandal comes at a time when US-Russia relations appear to be getting worse after President Obama’s much-heralded attempt to “reset” them.
The United States has announced it is to stop supplying the Kremlin with regular details about its military presence in Europe in retaliation for a similar Russian move four years ago. Moscow is also frustrated it is not being given a say in Nato’s nascent European missile defence system.
Sources at REN TV said Ms Limanova would not be punished for her slip-up despite the embarrassment it has caused the channel.
Roubini: “The contagion has now gone viral, cross Atlantic and global.” (video)
A Momentary Distraction From the Markets
A B.I. find. Perhaps a metaphor for your portfolio….
[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LMhBuSBemRk 450 300] Comments »Sarkozy’s Half Brother Sarkozy: A New Dr. of Doom or Reality ? (video)
This comment shows the gravity of Europe’s problem and why if the ECB does not act then another LEH Bros. event is at least in my mind inevitable.
Comments »China Surpasses U.S. as the Largest Cell Phone Market
UK Bank Chairman: ‘The Sky Will Fall’ in Europe
Inflation Set to Accelerate in Emerging Markets
Crisis in Europe key to U.S. economy
Comments »Third quarter gross domestic product was revised down Tuesday from 2.5% to 2.0%. That’s a sizable adjustment, but when you consider GDP growth from the previous quarters this year, a .5% revision downward is hardly that bad. (See: As Gloom Rises, U.S. Economic Data Flow Strengthens)
In Q1, the U.S. economy grew a minuscule .4%. In Q2, that number rose to 1.3%. So 2.0% growth in the third quarter at a time when there were “terrible headwinds” such as the debt ceiling debate and a market drop of 8%-9% is not horrible and actually shows some resilience in the consumer, which makes up 70% of the GDP figures, says Yahoo! Breakout’s Jeff Macke.
“Consumer spending was revised slightly down to a 2.3% growth pace from 2.4% because of adjustments to motor vehicle fuels and lubricants,” reports Reuters. “It was still the quickest pace since the fourth quarter of 2010.” This is right in line with previous reports of retail sales and earnings on The Daily Ticker.
What does this all mean for next year as we head into 2012? In a word, Macke says, the outlook is “grim.”
But he acknowledges the fact that no one has a clue what next year will bring. There are just too many unknown variables plaguing the global economy, the biggest of which Macke says is the European debt crisis.
In a sea of uncertainty, one thing is clear, says Macke: The future of the U.S. economy rests upon what happens in Europe. If Europe “seizes economically,” it is going to have a huge impact on the U.S. in terms of both jobs and the ability of U.S. companies to do business there.
FLASH: IMF To Release a New Credit Line to Help Sovereign Debt Woes; Market Bounces Off the Lows
You can borrow up to 500% of your quota in a 6 month time frame or up to 1000% in a 12-24 month time frame…
Market is rallying off the lows.
Comments »ECB funding demands surge
Comments »FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) – Euro zone banks’ demand for central funding surged to a two-year high on Tuesday, and U.S. funds cut their lending to the bloc’s banks, tightening a squeeze that looks unlikely to ease this year.
Fast-spreading sovereign debt worries have left lending markets virtually frozen and the European Central Bank as the only available funding option for many banks.
The ECB’s weekly, limit-free handout of funding underscored the widespread problems, with 178 banks requesting 247 billion euros, the highest amount since mid-2009.
Just as fears about the financial health of Italy and Spain have stopped banks lending to some their peers, U.S. funds have also continued to retreat from the region, and Italian and Spanish banks have seen corporate deposits flow out to safer havens.
U.S. money market funds, which are key providers of liquidity to banks and have been pulling back from the euro zone since May, cut their exposure to European banks by a further 9 percent in October, according to ratings agency Fitch.
Check Out An Austrian Commercial and Why Yields are Sky Rocketing
Soros Warns The ECB Must Stop the Bond Run
“Billionaire investor George Soros believes the euro zone bond market is facing a similar situation to the banking system in 2008 and wants the European Central Bank to step in to stop a self-fulfilling crisis of confidence.”
Comments »The U.S. Proposes New Sanctions on Iran’s Oil Industry and Central Bank
Germany Has Run Out of Bullets as They Refuse to Budge On Debt Resolution
“Germany is standing pat in Europe’s debt crisis, rejecting calls from allies and investors to do more to counter market turmoil, said Michael Meister, a senior lawmaker in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition.
“We don’t have any new bazooka to pull out of the bag,” Meister, the Christian Democratic bloc’s finance spokesman and deputy leader in parliament, said in Berlin today. “We see no alternative to the policy we are following,” which calls for budget cuts and keeping the European Central Bank from becoming a lender of last resort, he said in a telephone interview.”
Comments »Spain’s 3 Month Yield Jumps 100% in a Month
Spain is paying 7% plus on 3 month paper at an auction today. This was much more than what Greece and Portugal had to pay for similar auctions.
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